Saturday vote welcome

Media Release:

Youth Council welcomes Saturday vote

The National Youth Council of Ireland (NYCI) – which represents organisations working with over 380,000 young people – has welcomed the announcement that the coming General Election is to be held on a Saturday.

“As an organisation that has been campaigning for weekend voting since 1999, we welcome the fact that this election is to take place on a Saturday, a move we believe will support many young people to cast their vote,” said James Doorley, NYCI Deputy Director.

Strong public support (2012 RED C Poll: 77% of public in favour of Saturday vote )

“This is the first General Election in the history of the State to be held on a Saturday, although we have held two referendums, the second Nice Treaty and Children’s Rights Referendum on a weekend. We know from our previous public surveys that this move has strong public support. A poll conducted by Red C for NYCI in 2012 found that 77% of the public were in favour of holding elections and referendums on a Saturday.*

“NYCI has consistently highlighted that a weekend date will make it easier for young people in education, training or who work away from home to travel and vote in the constituency where they are on the electoral register,” continued Mr Doorley.

“While four of the last five General Elections (except 2007) have been held on a Friday, prior to this the norm from the 1960s to the early 1990s were for elections to be held on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Weekend voting is the norm in the majority of European counties, with Ireland and the UK being the odd ones out in that respect. NYCI is hopeful that this decision will set a new precedent, and that all future elections and referenda will be held on a weekend day,” concluded Mr Doorley.

ENDS

For further information, please contact Daniel Meister, Communications Officer at NYCI on 087 781 4903 or 01 425 5955 or email communications@nyci.ie

Notes to Editors:

National Youth Council of Ireland

NYCI is a membership-led umbrella organisation that represents and supports the interests voluntary youth organisations and uses its collective experience to act on issues that impact on young people.
www.youth.ie

*RedC Poll
Poll was carried out for NYCI by Red C. 1003 interviews were conducted between the 15th – 17th October 2012 among all adults, with 931 Irish Citizens – providing a sample error of + or – 3%.